"With great sandwich comes great responsibility." -Uncle Ben
Holding French dip-serving restaurants to a higher standard since 2009.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The French Dip Review Lives On!

As I’m sure many of you have noticed, the French Dip Review has not had an update in quite some time, since the 14th of November, as a matter of fact. By my precise calculations, that is a long time. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is the interference of school work and finals, sucking me dry of the free-time to visit fine eateries and munch their French dip sandwiches. You the reader may incorrectly think eating and reviewing French dip sandwiches is all fun and games, that there is no price to pay for consuming them, but let me be the first to tell you that it is a taxing process, both in terms of the time it takes to actually eat the French dip and in the amount of time it takes to write a review.And so, if you would kindly forgive me for my long absence, I would like to share with the great Food Reviewing Blogosphere two and a half pieces of information regarding The French Dip Review.

1.Around the time of my last review, I ate at a local Decorah establishment twice, both times ordering and ingesting their French dips. I took notes my first time, and I remember the experience well both times. I hope to have a review of this French dip up soon, hopefully before Friday. Without a doubt it will take the title of “Best French Dip” away from Arby’s, no contest.

2.As French dip sandwich loremasters are likely aware, there are two restaurants in Los Angeles which both claim to be the original home of the French dip: Cole’s Pacific Electrical Buffet and Philippe the Original. While I have not had time to substantiate the competing claims of these two, I respect the fact that they both strive to be the originator of the world’s best sandwich, and I hope to someday make a pilgrimage to Los Angeles and review both in a head-to-head French dip-off.

Regardless of my impartiality towards these two eateries, this Christmas I received a shirt from Philippe’s, and let me tell you it is pretty awesome. I intend on wearing it from time to time when I do my reviews, but I pray that the representatives of Cole’s will not see this as an endorsement of a French dip sandwich I have not yet consumed. Instead, I wear it as a remembrance of the rich history of the French dip sandwich and those who love it enough to claim to be its creator.

2.5.My Perkins gift cards from their corporate offices are floating around somewhere, and I hope to find them and a scanner soon to share with you the bounty of my review. It actually was a really nice, personalized letter, with $20 in Perkins gift cards included. As I promised, I will go back to the Perkins on University Ave. in Madison at the end of January to re-review their French dip sandwich, hopefully getting the correct bread so I will be able to give it a more respectable rating. Look for that review to come at the end of January or the beginning of February. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep the fresh reviews coming.

That is all for now, I just want to thank everyone for sticking with me, I know it can’t be much fun checking the blog and seeing that nothing has been updated for over a month. But the past is behind us, and there are only brighter days ahead. As Tim Allen most famously said, “To another French dip review, and beyond!”